Why not open all the Dubai Metro stations?

Why not open all the Dubai Metro stations?

Construction of all the Metro’s red line stations will be completed by April 25.But many will only open some “months” after that date. Why?

February 21, 2010 6:03 by Aarti Nagraj

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced on Saturday that work on all the remaining 18 stations on the Dubai Metro’s Red Line will be complete by April 25 2010.

However, the actual opening of the stations will be staggered in phases. The Emirates, Airport Terminal 1, GGICO, Al Karama, World Trade Center, Marina, and Ibn Battuta stations will open on April 25 – but the remaining 11 stations “will be operated over the following months of 2010,” Mattar al-Tayer, the chairman and executive director of RTA said in a release.

The stations to be opened were selected on the basis of “availability of population density in the locality served by each station… availability of commercial activities in the area served by each station, availability of government activities in the vicinity of each station, the station integration with other transport modes… and the projected number of commuters at each station,” according to al-Tayer.

Kipp doesn’t understand why things in Dubai can’t ‘fully’ open when they are supposed to. If all the stations on the Red Line are set to be ready in April, then why not open all of them? The Metro has been running for close to six months now, and most of the operational problems on the trains have been sorted out. So why should the stations only open in phases?

The Dubai government is struggling to persuade residents to use public transport, and recently, the Dubai Municipality even tried to enforce a car-free day as an environmentally friendly initiative. But how will people use the Metro if the stations close to their homes/offices are not even open?

The RTA’s criteria include availability of population and commercial activities in the vicinity of the station. Based on that, shouldn’t the Dubai Internet City station as well the Jebel Ali stations be opening? Unless, of course, they will not be ready – and the RTA just doesn’t want to acknowledge that.

Tags: Dubai metro, launch, open, Red Line, RTA, start, stations

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7 Comments

Dubai Residet on February 21, 2010 7:12 pm

Because of course the stations aren’t actually “complete”. They will declared “complete”, but will actually be complete later.

It’s the Dubai thing.
William on February 21, 2010 9:32 pm

I thought in journalism people are more knowledgable of current affairs. Did you not know what all of Dubai already knows ? The progress on several stations was halted in last few months.
Stay updated
Adam on February 22, 2010 6:11 am

er….. I thought we were told by the Big Cheeses that construction of all the stations had been completed in early January and we were now just in the minor fit-out stage ? That despite all evidence to the contrary, obviously.
Sohan on February 22, 2010 6:39 am

Dubai Internet City station has both significant “population density” (TECOM, Greens) and long-established “commercial activities” (DIC, DMC, KV) nearby. Yet, the station does not open, even in April, despite being “ready”.

Worse yet, there isn’t even a feeder bus service taking people directly to the MoE metro … the only public transport option Greens and even TECOM residents have in that regard is to use the Greens’ bus stations to take a regular city bus, which winds through half of Barsha en route.

Not only are residents losing money on taxi fare to and from the MoE station, but real estate agents and owners of nearby properties are probably also losing business. Both I and my colleague moved house with the expectation of metro access, but now the RTA has the gall to not only keep our respective “ready” neighborhood stations closed, but to keep them closed with no deadline.
MHMohammadi on February 22, 2010 2:18 pm

Truly significant is the opening of the Nakheel Station, for it will greatly aid the American University of Dubai’s students. Surely DIC station will also help many commuters.
Everyday I should take the metro to MOE station and take a direct taxi to AUD. I’m losing money since September by using 2 taxis per day. Is it not easier to run a feeder bus from MOE to Dubai Internet City and Media City?

I really hope the RTA reads this for I have repeated this statement to them already. Was there any response till today? No.

Many people face the same dilema of “How should I go to Dubai Internet City? Oh well, I’ll just take the car.” – Is this the “green way of living”?
ali-asad on February 24, 2010 7:45 pm

maybe they just want to get as much publicity from the metro as possible…
Handsome Brian on March 1, 2010 5:17 pm

The problem with the Emiratis is that they tend to believe their own propaganda… and then because Arabs hate to lose face they bulls**t their way through life hoping no one will notice. And anyway, don’t tell me for one minute that the guys who make the decisions about the Metro actually use it themselves??? Otherwise what morons would decide to close it at 10pm and not run it on Friday mornings – the very time when the majority of their user base would find it most useful!